If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Toyguru Mattycollector.com MOTUC News Thread August 2012

Like last year, instead of posting EVERY little thing in it's own post, I'll gather them ALL the relevant MOTUC Ask Matty postings here. Keep checking for updates! The old threads are ancient history and won't be updated anymore. This is the new spot until next month.

As always, I'll put the most recent news up first, while the old news is down the bottom.

Why not put these up for sale much sooner so there is a longer window to meet the quota? Why leave such a small window for sales? I've heard your arguments on this, that 3 weeks is plenty of time, but times are changing, and it's just not enough time. What worked 2-3 years ago won't necessarily work now.

Anything is possible. We are way to far out from 2014 at this point to make any announcements.

since the loincloth are the most reused parts for each figure to rensemble the classics apperance, wouldn't be possibile in the future to have some kind of 200x Unique Loincloth Pack (the same as you did for motuc fisto and grizzlor) for each charachter? Like the one for He-man with the bag, the fishy one for mer-man, the scaly one for whiplash, if only then a 200x head pack can follow it soon.....Don't get me wrong I don't want to resurrect something that is gone, I'd just like to extend the chance of display the motuc in more versions!

We don't have an overall rule like this but if it works for a particular characters we'll leave it to the Horsemen.

Why not re-releasing some figures so new people or people who may have found out late about line can get caught up. If you have put some into a short run why not do it, I'm not saying all of them just some more of the core vintage like Fisto, Beastman, Man At Arms, Teela, weapon packs and so on. Those will definitely sell. Ones like concept figures probably won't sell so you should leave them out.

a lot of times it comes down to whether we have stock left. We won't be going back into production on any older figures.

You would be doing all of us who started this line late a HUGE favor by putting Teela in that essentials category. People are paying $50+ on ebay all the time. So people would most certainly pay $22 here....ya know?

While many of the characters in the "Essentials" category are in fact primary characters, I'm guessing the main reason for the category is to sell off excess inventory. You haven't actually produced anything just to keep it on sale indefinitely. Otherwise, we wouldn't just have, for example, Peter and Ray without Egon and Winston. Am I correct?

He-Man and Skeletor were produced specifically in very high quotas so we have enough to keep them on the site as long as possible.

I know Draego-Man recently sold out, but I was curious if you have any CS stock of him to perhaps release at a later date, or if you plan to re-release him sometime in the future. It also definitely seems like he got more popular since his first release (after people realized what a great figure he was), so I'm pretty sure there would be quite a few people happy to have a second chance to get him.

I'm also curious if you guys are going to reissue Clawful? I'm guessing the answer is yes, but I just want to be sure.

We will not be going back into production on either of these figures. CS may be sold off at a later date if any exists, but there will be no second run.

This is from He-Ro Son of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Series Bible:

But Dare has some growing to do...

Whereas Dare is about thirteen, and looks his age, He-Ro has the trim, fit body of a strong, healthy eighteen year-old - hard, muscled, coordinated.

In He-Ro, there is none of the bony awkwardness of his still developing alter ego. (The boy-to-man aspect of the Dare/He-Ro transformation will further heighten the sense of aspiration and empowerment for our audience.)
But - no matter how physically mature he becomes as He-Ro - mentally and emotionally Dare is still a kid.

Learning to be He-Ro the man, not Dare the boy - that's the hard part.

Got it. So you are asking if we would do a slug or min articulated version of very young Dare (like a 6 year old or something).

Since Mattel does have the right to three of the characters (Blade, Saurod and Gwildor) this mightmake for a great SDCC collective piece as a three pack, since not everyone wants these figures as sub items.

If we have any CS stock left we will likely sell off sometime. But no plans for a new production run.

My first ever Motuc purchase was Sir Laser-Lot, and despite the hate this guy seems to get from some people (mostly youtube commentors), I really enjoy him. My only issue with him is his buckler being very different in color and not fitting very well on his arm. This is a minor and very forgiveable grievance. All-in-all, I LOVE this guy.

My only regret is....I bought him on ebay, and couldn't buy him off the site itself because it wouldn't accept my debit card. Can anyone tell me, do you HAVE to have a credit card, or was the issue just the card itself? I would much rather buy directly.

Also, has there been a reissue of Fisto yet? Would rather not pay 60 bucks on ebay for him if I don't have to.

I beleive we do take debit cards, they just need to work like Credit Cards. What we can't take is pay pal.

Fisto is long gone. We don't even have CS stock left. There will be no new production at this time.

Any Ideas what we are gonna see from you guys at MOTUC 1 figure 2 figures ect
any hints on a weapon or armor to get us going

ps thanks for Ram Man, Jitsu and Mekaneck cant wait. Heres to a Glimmer in the future or a NA for He-Man

Since we revealed so much as SDCC (including the quarter 2 "oversized item, FFM) and because there are no 30th figures or quarterly variants (variants are now in the oversized segment) there are overall fewer skus to reveals for 2013 vs what we had for 2012.

This leaves only 1 to 2 reveals as possible for Power Con and NYCC each. (to manage expectations!)

i noticed that you answered a question about the CAC-runner up art before, but is it possible to post the incredible art of Ra-Jar, Bubblor, Major Header and Three-Beast somewhere in a good printable quality?

Are the runner upดs receive a cool print of the art or some kind of a certificate?

was thinking that maybe for the motu movie figures they should be put out in their own sub much like the 30th ann. figures and that way they will see the light of day sooner rather then later . just a thought

If you are refering to the 1987 film, we don't have rights to make toys of that at this time.

I was wondering... Since you commented on the awesome video of Anthony DeLongis support of the MOTUC sub that you "clearly owe them a figure now", would Blade be a potential candidate for 2 heads? One that resembles his vintage pendant and one with the likeness of the actor himself?

We don't have rights to the 1987 film so the only version of Blade we can do is one that looks like the vintage toy (Even if the actor gave permission, it doesn't work like that. We would need rights to the film which we do not have for toys).

What if Dare was created as a smaller and less articulated figure like Cringer and packed in with is older self, He-Ro. Also, as much as I'd like to see a new sculpt of Craven he could be a simple repaint of Zoar.

Hey TG, Since large vehicles might be harder to justify... What are the chances of seeing stuff like Scubattack, Jet Sled or maybe Stilt Stalker? Or is it pretty much the same as fully tooled vehicles?

Liley slighty better, but still nothing set right now. The best way for more vehicles is to buy a Windraider

In a recent comment, you compared the FFM to the Star Sisters - in the sense that "they're a team". I thought the FFM were more of a faction like the Evil Warriors. Would there be more, or are there only 3?
Keep rerading the bios! (especially the FFM bio!)

One of the things that really impressed me about the 2013 subscription weeks was how many fans stepped up to the plate to market and advertise the purchase of the 2013 subscriptions. Undoubtedly, these efforts indeed helped in bringing sub sales to that 135%. A recent comment by Toy Guru in the Q & A mentioned how new buyers are only interested in the main characters like He-Man and Skeletor. I'd say this is simply not true, and I fear that this stance has and is causing MOTUC's growth to stagnate.

It got me to thinking that the efforts used during the subscription weeks could work to actually EXPAND the consumer base of MOTUC beyond the existing buyers by incentivizing talented and resourceful members of the customer base to find unique ways of spreading the word with videos, ads and articles in outlets that are effectively OUTSIDE of the typical collector circle.

Each advertiser/marketer can be provided with a unique Promo Code that they can post in their campaign efforts. The Promo Code could then be used by the new purchaser to get a discount on their purchase. The Promo Code can ALSO be used as a tracking method to determine the size of the "reward" that the advertiser/marketer should receive.

Since the number of product we receive depends on the number of subscriptions sold, when 2014 rolls around, would it be possible to have a thermometer with points of reference as to how well the sub is doing and how much product we get out of it?

When it's time for 2014, would you at least say this is the number of product we'd like to offer you and you will only get it if we reach this point on the thermometer, otherwise we will likely cut it to a lower number of figures at this price point for the year 2014.

Then you could set up a Power Sword thermometer with points of references as to how much product we'll end up getting. If you only reach 1/4 of your total, then you say we have to scale things back to 6-8 items, reach the halfway mark, that's the minimum needed to move on for 2014 as planned, 3/4 of the way you get to offer out of sub items, a full thermometer and you might consider taking that extra money to work on a prototype Castle Grayskull for pre-oders at another point in the future.

I was a fan on the 80's He-man & She-ra cartoons and collected a lot of the He-man figures back in the day. Somehow I didn't find out about MOTUC until early 2011 at which point I would visit the mattycollector.com site only to find that nothing was ever for sale (there was no mention how collecting these figures works) I didn't know to only come to the site on the 15th of each month therefore I didn't even get on board until the 2nd half of 2011 so you can imagine I had a lot of catching up to do. At the same time I didn't understand how "reissues" or extra CS stock was only sold randomly each month at the time of sales so you guys lost some of my business to eBay and the like.

Anyway, I just wanted to suggest putting some type of guide for collecting MOTUC, etc and how to get started and when to buy, etc and make it easily findable on the site. I feel like this would help all those like me who are finding out so late about MOTUC.

Definately something we'd like to do. Really comes down to resources and right mow we are putting everything we have into the figures.

For 2014, to allure potential subscribers, don't you think it would be wise to make a highly desirable figure the sub exclusive figure, not a new, obscure or concept figure (i.e. King He-Man)? It could only help sub sales to make the subscription figure a highly requested one.

That is certainly one option. 2014 is too far off to make any comittments now.

Great hearing you on RDG 97. Though I have to concur with some of the posts here that talk about what characters should be considered "royalty" or not... POP and NA heavy-hitters rank about Rotar and TwistoidNo. we will only have TOD Sorceress at Power Con.

But that's not my question... this is:

Will Mattel have other MOTUC figures for sale at Power Con? Maybe some of the customer service stock of the 30th Anniversary series? I had one 30th Anniversary Sub and I open my figures... it would be cool to be able to buy MOC versions of Photog, Spector, Draego-Man, etc. Or maybe even of regular MOTUC figures like Horde Prime, Kobra Khan, or Sorceress?

Hi Scott, just listened to RGD 97 and thanks for taking the time to get information out to us.

I'm glad to hear that original characters will be taking precedence over variants. One thing that did concern me though is the notion of "Vintage Royalty" with characters like Rotar and Twistoid, Ninjor and Blast attack. While I have nothing against these figures per se, the reality is that it sounds like the line will begin to shrink. There are considerable PoP and NA figures that have yet to be released who would fall into the "A list" and even the "B list" in those lines. Rotar, Twistoid et al would be vintage "C-listers" in my opinion.

Part of the thing that got me hooked on Classics was the idea that it was more than just "vintage reborn". There are a lot of PoP I would like to see. I think the majority of MOTUC PoP fans want some great looking Classic style PoP women and aren't interested in "rooted hair" and comb weapons and other things that the vintage line had. Adora was the 1st figure I ever got and what turned me on to MOTUC in the first place and she was and is awesome.

Finally (and sorry for getting long winded) there is the great opportunity to produce core NA characters that appeared in the Jetlag cartoon like Crita and Mara. I would hope that someone like Crita a key mutant character and someone who could be the 1st Jetlag character in the line would rank higher than a vintage C lister.

Our goal has always been to do the most robust diverse line as possible. That is why we created the "roadmap" from year 1. Now that sales are down signifigantly we want to focus on the most fan demanded figures first. It doesn't mean we won't get to everyone in time, but that will be the focus first.

So you wanted us to get a 100% min for MOTU to go through,and we hit 135%.
Then you turn around and say that's not good enough,and punish us by giving us a lot less figures in 2014 !!?? REALLY ??!!!

So what was the point of getting 100% ??

It seems like it didn't matter,cause you secretly wanted more then the 100% then what you were telling us ????

why tell us to hit a goal to turn around and tell us we fail....That alone will make me not sign up next year cause you guys can't get your story together.BEFORE you make promises to the fans... check with upper management first to get the facts straight as to what/how many slots would be for sure if we hit this ??% vs that ??% !!!!

6 slots for 2014..REALLY...last time i check there are more then 6 vintage left....but hey you got what you wanted right ??!!! So it's back to the "stay tuned" and "wait and see" etc.etc...

We needed 100% of the min to move forward with 2013 at all.

We needed 100% of the 2012 renewals to get a robust 2014 line.

135% of the min is about 50% of the 2012 sub level is that puts it in perspective.

How about using it for Tuskador. He seems like he sould be a larger figure. What do you think, would he be a larger or smaller figure

Ram Man actually isn't as much a buck as a fully tool'd detailed unique figure (he's worth it!) He isn't a "larger buck" the way we have a female buck and a male buck so this might not be as possible. But you never know!

It all depends on how manyt slots we get in 2014 and if that will be enough slots to cover all the remaining figures.

We don't know if we will have enough slots due to the very low sell in of the 2013 sub. But I will fight for every slot we can get in 2014 and we will maxmize every slot we do get with the most fan demanded figure we can (i.e. don't expect extremely obscure Filmation or concept art figures in 2014).

Can't wait for this awesome figure. Loved it since day one when it was revealed. I'm only sorry that he is the only new MOTUC figure this month, but the rest of the year will make up for it.

Speaking of which, is everything else currently on schedule as it was stated at SDCC? No more delays, I hope. The next few months (while awesome) will bite the wallet each month in turn as is.
At this point the year should be locked.

Thank you TG for answering my Carnivus question. But my first question was:

I’m a bit confused about the timeline between the pact with the elders and Trolla and the time than Zodac becomes a cosmic enforcer. In the bio from Zodac it is written that the former member of the Council decide to keep his human form and left Eternia and find peace between the stars. Later he would be recruited from the Overlords of Trolla. In Zodaks Bio it is mentioned that he joins the Council after the real Zodac left Eternia to fulfill the pact with the Elders. In the Cartoon Series we can see that the council members becomes to spirit figures after direct after the dead of Grayskull. The Questions are now: when was the pact between the elders and Trolla arranged, before or after Grayskull dead? How long Zodac stays between the stars before he was recruited by trollas overlords? Or is there something twisted in the Zodac bio (should it mean that he was recruited by trolla, keep his human form and left eternia and later he found peace between the stars)?

My Spikor's eyes were not painted on properly. I returned it and was given a second "wonky-eyed" figure. Now I'm looking for a correct figure, and there are none to be found! Over a dozen people I've spoken with have told me their figures' eyes are just as bad. Is there any way we could get some kind of limited head reissue to address this problem? Is Mattel aware of this problem's cause?

Every figure is hand made and hand painted so there will alwyas be some level of QC on every fig. We have passed these comments on to our vendor but there are no plans to reissue just the head. If you are unhappy with the one you got just call CS and arrange a replacement on us!

This figure's bio is way better than the actual figure...seems like there is just too much blue from neck to legs....I wish there was a little more silver on him. Did you have any say in the final rendering of this figure?
How much new tooling did he need and what shared parts if any does he have?
Thanks!

It was 100% up to Geoff Johns the creator of Sir Laser Lot on the color and look of the fig (as well as which shared parts were used, we presented several options to him using his original drawing as a starting place).

I know you can't tell us who is in it or how big it is. However, right now the fan community is still very active, so why not put up a preorder for the 2014 sub. Just say we're getting 12 figures + sub exclusive, e.g. 2 from vintage, 2 from NA, 2 from MYP, 2 from Filmation, 2 from POP/Great Rebellion, 2 minicomic or 18 figures (make everything 3x instead of 2x), etc.

I will happily pre-order my 2 subs for 2014 tomorrow if you would do this. You can make it clear that if there isn't enough, then it won't happen, just like the BTTF Hoverboard.

At this point we don't know how big or small 2014 will be. Once we know that we will also review how it is sold and when which can very well be different from last year. (or exactly the same, we just don't know yet).

Scott, you mentioned recently during the "WE MADE IT!!" video update that you planned to share with fandom what the suprises and fan demanded goodies would be, but I honestly can't recall if you said these 'presents' would be opened up during NYCC or NYTF. I don't have access currently to re-watch the video or I'd simply check there. Can you please confirm at which of these shows you plan to clue us in?

I really want to know why is millions of pounds of plastic and paint being spent on this horrendous and worthless figure. Not only the design is very "power rangers", he wears this Bane-looking mask - TERRIBLE. Waste of $22. And it does NOT add any quality to the wonderful world of the "MASTERS". Please, there are still a good number of "Core" characters from all 3 shows to be made. Don't make crap that doesn't exist. That's all.

He may not be for everyone but we love what Geoff designed and are thrilled to have SLL join the MOTU world. As part of the 30th sub, you don't need to feel obligated to buy him. That is why we did not include him or any of the other 30th figs in the main sub. It made owning him optional!

With all the recent concern about the size of the 2014 MOTUC lineup, one thing comes to mind:

I'm a big JLU fan and really appreciate how you kept that line going on Matty with 4 packs, 2 packs, oversized figures, the 7 pack, convention exclusives, and now the final 3 packs (did I forget anything?)

Can't you use that same magic that kept JLU alive to keep MOTUC going strong with at least 12 skus next year!

Many fans who were on the fence about whether to buy a 2013 sub wanted to see a list of every figure coming out for the year to help them make the best decision. While that was not possible due to time constraints, we now have 2014 to look forward to, and once again sub sales will be paramount to any continuation of the line in 2015.

Would it be feasible for Mattel to release the complete 2014 character list before the end of the 2014 subscription sales period? What obstacles prevent Mattel from doing this?

Why is batman using MOTUC parts or at least with the same design/style than MOTUC when you said so many times in the past on this very forums that MOTUC style/parts are for MOTUC only and are part of the line's look and wont be used in other lines??

If other lines use the same style/parts then MOTUC, then MOTUC is not so special after all...

Theonly parts this Batman uses from MOTUC is the shoulders. Otherwise it is a 100% new figure. Normally we don't share parts from MOTU but we made a one time exception due to only using the shoulders.

Orko and Adam together have been at a pricepoint of 25$, at a time when basic figures were sold for 20$, so in the end Orko was 5$ extra.

Now with the risen costs, could you imagine doing a three-pack with Kowl, Montork and Dree-Elle? They all could reuse a lot of parts from Orko, even Kowl could have the same hands and the flight stand (with some modification, so he wouldn't have a hole in his body). This could then be sold at 25$ like a standart figure with some saving on costs and we could get three characters out of the way at one time

So I have kind of reached my wits end with DR Customer Service. For the past 4 Months I have called 5 times and emailed 5 times just asking to have my eMail address changed. I mean how hard could such a simple task be? Where is this New and Improved US based CS everyone keeps talking about? I really have no idea what I am supposed to do now. I am hoping one of the moderators can here can help. Thanks.

How about opening the Sub Period starting January 2013 (and ending by the time the sub period Normally ends)? No items to show? How about mentioning the amount of items that year and mentioning 4 characters that WILL Make it if the sub goes through! No sub extensions AND it's plenty of time for people to subscribe and MAYBE even go beyond what we need!

We won't have the 2014 line to share until closer to SDCC 2013 so this is not possible.

Do you think it would be possible to do another motu sub of just vintage like they appeared in the 80's. You guys already the tools to do it right. You can even do the prototypes that were never released

For the sake of those of use who bought all 3 subscriptions, will you guys be trying to release the MOTUC quarterly items on non-Watchmen months?

I did the math and if the subs were done that way (Watchmen and quarterly items being released on opposing months), then most months will fall into the $80 range, with a couple $50 months and the big months being when the Foe Men, Ram Man, and the $50 set come out, being a little over $100 those months.

I know January will have Ram Man and Rorschach, but for the other months will you guys attempt to avoid this kind of overlap?

I’m a bit confused about the timeline between the pact with the elders and Trolla and the time than Zodac becomes a cosmic enforcer.

In the bio from Zodac it is written that the former member of the Council decide to keep his human form and left Eternia and find peace between the stars. Later he would be recruited from the Overlords of Trolla.
In Zodaks Bio it is mentioned that he joins the Council after the real Zodac left Eternia to fulfill the pact with the Elders.
In the Cartoon Series we can see that the council members becomes to spirit figures after direct after the dead of Grayskull.
The Questions are now: when was the pact between the elders and Trolla arranged, before or after Grayskull dead? How long Zodac stays between the stars before he was recruited by trollas overlords? Or is there something twisted in the Zodac bio (should it mean that he was recruited by trolla, keep his human form and left eternia and later he found peace between the stars)?

One small question to Carnivus bio. Here is written that he joins Randors new council after the raise of Skeletor and the comeback of Hssss and Hordak. Means that that the Chief joins the council in the time of the second ultimate battleground?

since Motuc buck has been used for a Batman figure, can other series buck be used for slimmer character like Mantenna, 200x adam, 200x Mer-Man, Lizard Man, Modulok and all those characters who are actually smaller the standard body in order to cut the costs and focus the resource to the expensive sculpting costs and ?

I actually checked with the DC team. This is not a Batman fig using the MOTU buck. It is in "scale" to MOTUC (in order to create that unique one time Dark Knight Returns look) but the only MOTUC part it uses is the shoulders. All other parts are brand new.

We were happy to loan the use of the shoulders as a one time help for the DC team, but as always, MOTU classics parts will only be used on MOTUC toys.

I get that everything has to be approved by management, sales were down, etc. But Toyguru, you did a whole He-man.org podcast and stated other places that if we just bought 2013, that you would make sure we got all the important vintage characters in 2014. If you go down to 6 figures - that just simply won't be possible (and that's just for Masters - not even counting NA or POP).

I realize a lot of this stuff is not your ultimate decision - but does feel like a bit of a bait and switch to promise if we just hang in there with 2013 - the line will be "finished off" in 2014.

I actually just did a follow up Gooble to clarify! :-)

We will still "toss out the roadmap" and make every sku count in 2014, but to get enough skus to cover ALL the vintage figs and major animated figures we needed close
to 100% renewal. With 2013 hitting the bare min, this may not get the number of slots needed.

We'll still make every slot count toward finishing the line, but we needed closer to a full renewal rate to make that happen in 2014.

We did keep 2013 as a full robust year, but the sell in was less than half of
what we had previously so it may not be possible to get enough skus to wrap this in only one more year.

But with the skus we do get we'll try to wrap up as much as we can!

My sincere appologies for not making it clearer that to get enough skus to really finish by 2014 it would have required a full renewal, not the just above bare min we got.

We don't know at this time how many 2014 slots we will get. We hope for the most but will do the most we can with what we get. (2014 skus will be based on sell in of 2013 sub, who's numbers, as I said were low)

I posted this on He-man.org in reference to your (Toyguru) post about maximizing slots in 2014 in the expected case it will contain much fewer skus. I'm posting it here as well because I'm not sure you got the chance to address it over there and I wanted to hear your thoughts about it:

One way to maximize slots would be to add smaller characters with figures who don't have many accessories and little tooling, but are heavy hitters. For instance Glimmer won't require too much tooling and all she originally came with was her staff! This would be a great way to get us Kowl! What are your thoughts on this?

Thanks for your time!

If we included Kowl in a pack with a 6" figure it would rise the cost to over 25.00. Just look at Orko and Adam as an example

Hello ToyGuru, Are you guys going to sell a pre sale for Temple of Darkness Sorceress and pick-up at the show(Power Con 2012),or is it going to be Whom ever come first to and get in line to purchase Temple of Darkness Sorceress??
Thank you!

I am a bit confused about the somehow opposed statements about 2014. Now that we "saved" 2013, will another subscription be offered for 2014 or is that off the table?
(Just in general, no matter what number of skus you'll be able to "squeeze" out of higher management.)

That has not been determined yet. I can tell you 100% 2014 will be smaller than 2012 or 2013. How small has yet to be determined.

For us MOTUC vehicle supporters (be it vintage, NA, 200X ... whatever vehicles) is it possible to have a WindRaider sales thermometer on mattycollector.com? I think you made it pretty clear for now that to have more vehicles in the future WindRaider has to meet desired number of sales - this is a similar situation as in the case of the sub. So I was wondering ... the thermometer would show the fans what challenge they are approximately facing here. It should not be that difficult to do the thermometer and it would be a little step forward. Thanks.

Sorry, we don't give info on stock levels this way. We only do meters for preorders, not current stock.

Hi Toyguru! As per your video, since we "knocked it out of the park" we are now getting the surprises that were originally going to be held back. I am assuming these must be NON-SUB items, which are outside of the "closed" 2013 subscription. Therefore, my suggestion is to make Illumina part of those surprises as a NON-SUB figure make Illumina part of those surprises as a NON-SUB figure, kinda like how Bubble Power She-Ra was in 2011. It will be a great way to say "thank you" to all the fans that did above and beyond to save the 2013 sub, and would go over very well with the fans and those that have concerns about the closing of the fan choice figure polls. With both figures being so close in the voting, those numbers show she's just as demanded as Geldor and would sell very well. It's exactly the kind of gesture that fans would love and appreciate.

The "surprises" were already costed out a year ago. We just didn't get the green light until now. So we can't add or change them now.

Please Scott, for the love of God, home, country, and all that is holy... NO GWILDOR in 2014!! That is all.

But Gwildor rocks!

Honestly, as a fully tool'd figure he is harder to do. It all comes down to how many slots we will get. We really need at least 12 slots to tackle a fully tool'd figure (to bank the tooling as a full year tooling bill divided by 12)

I remember that the reason we got Orko, Sorceress, and Prince Adam in the Classics lineup was because Mattel already had the rights to their toy designs, so since they made them back in the day, we could get them now.

Will that apply to any future Filmation figures as well, not to mention Shadow Weaver?

Or is this the one shot, and then it's done?

We have a sub license from CM to do the Filmation characters. That is how we can put them in the line.

Anyway, was there any thought that maybe the Wind Raider was the wrong vehicle to start with? People had seem the Battle Ram at the con, and it got their collecting appetites going. And then a vehicle was announced, and everyone got excited, then it was....the Wind Raider. Still cool, but not the Battle Ram.....or Attack Trak....or Dragon Walker.....or Land Shark....

I know you have said that pre-orders are not possible for vehicles and such, and I understand that. But to show management that different vehicles would have interest, perhaps you could at least generate a poll (like you did for the figures for 2013-14) and ask about different vehicles, and what people would be willing to pay, how many would they buy, etc. Just a tool to perhaps show management to look at the potential that a 2nd vehicle might bring as far as sales.

At the very least, it would be a fun poll to see. Can't deny that....

Honestly, there is one thing and one thing only that will show management the demand for more vehicles. Buy a Windraider. It really is cool!

Hello Toy Guru, I hope you get to read this....I know subscription sales ended on August 6th and I also read there will be no extensions, but...I've been a MOTU sub holder since the begining and unfortunately I was in a severe car accident when hit by a drunk driver in June and was fighting for my life. I was obviously unable to purchase a subscription for 2013 as I was just released today, August 8th, and I understand that it was stated there will be no extensions, but if there is any way, or some kindness still in this world, would it be possible at all for me to purchase a MOTU subscription for 2013? I have a very long road to recovery and looking forward to a monthly figure from my favorite line and childhood memory would very much brighten the process and would be greatly appreciated. I really don't expect much from writing you this message, but it's worth a shot in my eyes, I am grateful to be alive and look at everday from here on out as a gift, but it would also mean that much more to anticipate a little surprise every month from Mattel, and just like "the most powerful man in the universe" it would also give me a little more power myself to push through and over come my injuries and ultimately complete my rehabilitation. I would probably be one of the happiest subscribers if the was any way an exception could be made. Thank you for your time, and as I stated above, I really hope you get to read this personally and at least consider the possibility.

So sorry for your situation. I'll pass this along to CS and see what we can do.

first, I'd like to thank you in the name of our community for being such a hard fan fighting the way you did.
here's my question: as many beast/characters would require a 100% new tooling, i was wondering how about taking chance with a character such as Molkron? i mean now that we got both of bucks needed to do so(Swiftwind/He Man sculpt)

Let's say the "worst" happens and in 2014 we can only get figures bi-monthly (6 for the year via a subscription).
Does this sort of "slimmed down" subscription model mean that Traveling Convention Figures (like TOD Sorceress and Strobo) and SDCC Exclusives would no longer be something Mattel would want to put additional money into? Or would there still be a budget for Con Exclusives in a reduced-figure year?

Yes, if we only got 6 slots for 2014 we would likley not do a traveling con figure. But that is a worst case scenario and I like to plan for the best!

I've noticed you mention a few times that you don't get credit for this, you don't get credit for that etc.

I'd like to disagree, in a big way.

Is it not good enough for you that you got 3 figures made in plastic based either on you, or your own design? Nite-Lik, Spector, Palace Guard head. You get to write ALL the bios. You yourself pick who gets released and who doesn't, rewriting MOTU the way YOU want to. People praise you all the time here on Ask Matty and the Org. Your pay packet must also be reward in itself.

Yet it's still not enough for you.

How about handing the reins over to someone else then, I'm sure they'd love not getting the 'credit' you do. I'm a children's nurse, I save children's lives each day yet you don't hear me saying 'I saved a child's life, give me credit'

My note about "getting credit" for the Keldor swords was just a joke. Just trying to illustrate that I am doing all I can to fight for what we all want! :-)

your other points I don't really see as valid. It is my job to run MOTU and help on bios and figure roll outs. Yes, it is a really cool job, but in the end it is my job. That is like saying it isn't fair that Geoff Johns gets to write Justice League every month.

You can come work for Mattel too. There are always open positions listed on Mattel.com.

With the recent announcement that vehicles are- for the most part- off the table, would Stridor/Nightstalker be considered a large beast or a vehicle? He's not technically 'alive' and is mechanically based, so I'm torn on how to categorize him. Also, if he's considered a beast does this mean there is a better chance we may see him in the line in the future?

They would be great candidates for either but in the end are 100% tools (at least one of them is) which makes them a bit harder to do now that we only sold the bare min of 2013 subs (well 35% over the bare min, but still less then half of what we did in previous years).

Longtime cherry picker, first time subber. Now I know that 2012 figures are off the table for reissuing, no problem there. However, is there a chance for a reissue of Roboto with corrected shoulders. I see many fans with cracked and broken Robotos because of the stress the incorrect shoulders put on the translucent plastic. We needed a corrected re-release, please.

As much as I would love to do this, it would require a development slot and that would mean giving up a new figure to do a small (but needed) fix on an older figure. I realyl would like to do this as a fan, but as a marketing manager I honestly don't see it happening outside of a movie year.

The horde troops don't need to have different heads like the past 2 army builder packs. But could you include the mini robots that worked for Skeletor in the pack ??? It can be placed in the middle of the packaging,like (trooper=minirobot=trooper)...I think this would be the greatest army builder set ever

Right now we have no plans for Horde Troopers to announce but a cool suggestion if we ever get to them!

Was management aware of all the fantastic fan sub promotion (along with those from the former Masters of the Universe film pitching in to promote the subs) the last few weeks? I'm talking about the fan/celebrity youtube videos, Twitter campaign, and online petitions/rallies. If so, what did they think?

It's just amazing after all these years, this toyline Mattel started in the 80's just doesn't go away, and we're still so passionate about it. It's the only toyline I collect nowadays, and MOTUC made me realize how much I've always loved it over any other toyline.

MOTUC is likley the smalles toy line Mattel does (now that GB is on hold). Management is a big supporter of it and loved to see all the videos and pages.

Very glad I got a sub and will get jitsu and ram man for starters.if you get to make madame razz flutterina perfuma clamp champ ninjor two bad shokoti and mermista before 2014 is over(I'm not picky when)I will be a happy man.

I hear you that Geldor is the winner. Really, I do. And even though I voted for Illumina, I'm happy with Geldor as he was a close second for me...I've wanted him since the 80's!

But nobody can deny that the typo could have caused some confusion...and with a 27-point lead, there's reason to believe that the outcome could have been different, had people known the true time of the poll closing.

So...why not make both as a two-pack?

I understand we have an army builder coming in the $50 slot.

IF it's the one everyone seems to think it is, there won't be much room for variations in armor, weapons, etc.

Soooo....why not release the army builder as the November figure (with tons of extra day-of stock, and the put an Illumina vs Geldor two-pack in the beast slot? Soooo....why not release the army builder as the November figure (with tons of extra day-of stock), and then put an Illumina vs Geldor two-pack in the beast slot?

That would be the ULTIMATE thank you to the fans of both sites for pulling together and saving the line for 2013, and all hard feelings/suspicions over the vote would be resolved.

Because 2013 is closed. 2013 closed over a year ago. We can't add, subtract or change anything to the 2013 line up.

I liked things you made like clawful 's shield and snout spout 's jaws of life.besides jitsu 's axe weapons will we see any more new things like this.specifically I am asking if weapons for any she ra gals can and will be designed for them when a certain figure is made

Scott, how about a pre-sale for vehicles which includes enough fundage to account for the development dollars (including translating sculpt to final workable toy, etc.) needed to produce a final product? We fans who purchase 3rd party and/or from smaller companies are no strangers to long lead in times, so I doubt most fans would mind a year or so wait to see a finished toy as long as they know it's coming. You say it's all about finding the dollars from within existing yearly budgets to produce more vehicles, but that doesn't sound quite right, especially when you consider the option of building the design/R&D/production budget into your pre-sale pricing. Even if it might be necessary to carry costs across several fiscal years to make it happen it seems like something that could be viable. Again, we fans are willing to wait as long as it's done right.

Also, if it's not possible to build the above costs into a pre-order model where it may take several years to produce, how about sub-contracting the design/R&D and perhaps even production to another established company, much in the same way you did with NECA for the Stactions?

I'm just sayin', if it's ultimately about cost and development time there has GOT to be a way to structure things so that it still works out and Mattel makes their money back at (mostly) zero risk.

At this point, the best way to support more vehicles is to buy a Windraider.

I know we have no chance of seeing the Meteorbs in MOTUC...at least not unless the line goes on for a LONG time to come...with our current sales crisis, all efforts will, and should, be on the essentials.

But, the Meteorbs have always felt out of place in the MOTU world. SO much so, that I wonder if you guys could consider releasing them at retail OUTSIDE of the MOTU banner?

Kids love transforming toys. There are only ten of them. You could do it as a one-and-done kinda thing. Kids and parents would supplement the MOTU fan purchases. I think it could be somewhat of a success.

What do you think?

I'd love to get to them, but man that is a lot of tooling. And right now I'd rather put that into fully tool'd figures like Horde Troopers, Gwildor, Mantenna, Modulok and the like.

with the Battle Ram seeming out of reach for the time being - would it be possible to just release the Battle Ram Glider (the front part of it) seperately? It's much smaller and thus needs much less resources. And it would be able to be sold much cheaper. Furthermore, (at least the vintage version) it's just ONE tool (okay, two, since it consists of two halves glued together). Might this be an option for 2014, maybe as a bonus item or convention exclusive?

P.S.: The second part of the vehicle could be released at a later date, if and when the line grows stronger again and there's fan demand and resources for it.

This is pro more likley due to the lower price point but still nothing to confirm.

Any time I've seen Management/VP type folks at conventions they have always seemed just as interested in fan feedback as you, but they've also seemed more surprised by fan passion, and I think that's because you are such a fan and know what that passion is all about!

So might any of them be coming to your Power-Con panel? I hope if they see how much we want this thing in person it might help the cause, since I think the only other way we'll get the Battle Ram pre-order to happen is to sell out the Wind Raider, and I don't know how long that'll take! Thanks!!!

I did invite all of the management types to PC and Danielle was kind enough to offer comp tickets to Mattel management. How many will show up is yet to be seen!

I loved the idea of the Palace Guards, and I really loved the customization options with the interchangeable heads, especially the Toy Guru head snuck in.

So I was wondering if any thought had been given to releasing more heads for those of us who have rather sizable armies? Maybe something included in a Weapons Pak or packaged with another figure. Also I'd love to see some more "celebrity guest heads", like the 4 Horsemen, or Pixel Dan, or heck, Alan Oppenheimer with blue skin.

Anyway, I know the big concern right now is classic characters and continuing the line into 2014, but this was just something I thought would be a neat idea.

I will now patiently await my "Cool idea, but there are no plans to do something like that right now" type answer

We'll fit in more heads when we can! Even Strobo comes with an extra head.

When 2013 was in danger you said if we get to 2014, we would finish with the main vintage characters. Now you are saying we may be down to NOTHING in 2014 or 6-12 slots. How will you come close to finishing then? How do we go from save 2013 and 2014 will be epic, to maybe nothing? Not cool.

What I will do is make every slot count. I never said we would be 100% done with vintage by the end of 2014 but I will do all I can to make sure every slot we get in 2014 will be used for a vintage fig or a main Filmation fig. There are 30+ vintage figs left to do and we've never done 30+ figs per year so realistically doing every vintage fig by the end of 2014 is unreleasitic.

But also keep in mind, there are a lot of vintage figs left in 2013 too!

Even if it was a mistake, because that's the information that went out as part of our contracts, does that not make you legally obligated to stand by it?

It seems disrespectful to those who made that final push to buy their subs, that they may not have gotten a chance to vote for the fan's choice especially the people who had trouble with the site, as well who were given to understand that they had another 2 days to vote.

The honorable and likely best legal course of action would be to reopen the vote for the same number of hours that were missed between the contracted ending (8/8 11:59 pm pt) and the actual end time (which I'm assuming was 8/6 6:59 am PT based on the information we've been given for the sub order's actual closing).

Leaving it as it is just gives the impression that it was closed early to make certain that Geldor remained in the lead and the winner.

Thank you for your time.

Yeah, I hear you, and there are arguments on both sides. but at this point since we already announced Geldor we are going forward with him as the winner.

Are there any leftover stock from any 2012 figures that will be offered on here? I'd really like to get my hands on thunder punch he-man and snake man at arms should they be offered again! Any chance of a schedule for the upcoming re-sales of old stock? thanks
There may be a few figs with cusotmer service stock sold off at some point, but it that happens we are talking a tiny amount. but no 2012 or 2013 fig will go back into production. Many figures (like Fisto) are completely gone and even CS stock is gone.

Now that we're officially breaking away from the 2016 roadmap starting in 2014 I'm wondering about what might have been. That leads me to my question:

Working stricktly off your 2016 roadmap/list-- how many figures/beasts/etc would have had to be slatted in 2014, 2015 and 2016 (inclued non sub items like SDCC) in order to have completed the 2016 road map by the end of 2016?

You can answer in either a per year number or if it's easier just give a total number starting with where'd we be come the end of the 2013 subscription year.

The original road map had 4 "Beast/Oversized slots" each year. Now that was are moving away from this it is unclear how many more beast we will be able to do. Some of them are easy like Battle Lion, others like Stridor would be a full tool. And while we could use Stridor for Nightstalker, honeslty with as few skus as we will get in 2014 I'd rather use fully tool'd slots for figures like Horde Troopers, Gwildor, Mantenna, Modulok and the like. Every slot is that much more precious now.

your answer was "I love those characters too! But now that we only hit the bare min for 2013, we are going to concentrate on the vintage toy characters first for 2014 (and main Filmation characters) swinging back to these type of characters in time." we did not hit only the minimum, we are 35% OVER the minimun,so, why donดt we just keep the roadmap as is??? Just adress all the other problems and we will be just fine! Thanks!

35% over the bare min is still tiny.

In 2011 and 2012 we were more then double the bare min. We had over a 50% drop from 2012 to 2013 numbers. Although we "saved the line" we did so with just a smidge above the bare min to do so.

your answer was "Yes, on paper a pre sale seems like a good idea but it still takes a ton of resoruces to do and with sub numbers so low for 2013 and WR sales so low it is jut not a resource we can get right now" could you explain to us the ton on resources involved in a preorder of a Battle Ram that is already sculpted? Thanx for everything you do on motu

Sure, resources including costing out the item with our vendor and design the toy. It take a ton of work to translate a sculpt into a toy and we would need to do that inorder to run a presale.

Just curious - it seems unfortunate that just when the Filmation license is acquired, the MotUC line needed to be scaled back to be vintage focus to help ensure the line ends properly.

Did you have bigger hopes that the Filmation licenses would keep the line moving forward and do you still feel that heading in a Filmation direction could rejuvenate the line as it is coming to a vintage close?

The scaling back had to do with the price jump and needed CS improvements. The later being the one we are trying to improve, we can't do much about the cost.

In 2014 I would tend to think you could totally get away with keeping the 16 figure (plus exclusives) platform so long as none of them are still hitting the $75 price range. Keeping your oversized/multipacks between the $30-$50 price mark in 2014 will help.

I for one have really enjoyed the concept figures, but I think it probably is a good idea for the general well being of the line to take a break from them in the 2014 sub. But hopefully there will be a 2015 sub and we can maybe see a couple of concept figures come back to the line at that time--plus concept figures can always make great convention pieces along side variants.

Last, just like most people collecting this line, I grew up with the original He-Man figures and filmation cartoons. But I also really love the POP characters and at this point I kind of want some of the key POP figures more than anything else. Also, while I was not an NA fan I've really liked the way you and the Horsemen have incorporated them into the line and I do think they have a necessary place in this all encompassing line we know as MOTU Classics.

With that said I think going forward (presuming we get a minimum of 12 figures per year) I think we need at least 2 to 3 POP figures and 2 to 3 NA figures every year. Again I'm not speaking for anyone but myself, but when I look at how many POP figures we still need and how few NA figures have been done I think a minimum of 2-3 of each per year is somewhat necessary (and personally, as of now, in a year with 16 figures I wouldn't mind seeing as many as 6 POP figures in a single year--especially if you count Filmation POP and Horde POP).

TG, what would your thoughts be about devoting at least 4 to 6 total spots to POP/NA in a given year? Would it make sense to set aside that many yearly spots to help cover and catch up on POP and NA characters? Or would that turn off too many of the "vintage MOTU only" collectors?

It all depends on how many slots we get in 2014. We will try to maxmize them to hit as many fan requests in 2014 as we can.

Also, keep in mind that 2013 is CHOCK FULL of fan requests and a lot of what people are asking for will already be out by 2014 in the 2013 line!

I'm happy to see so many strides are being taken to maximize the impact of next year (even though I would love to see the line continue as it has been, with a nice mix of 200x and concept figures, as well).

I do have a question about the number of "slots" being referenced for 2014. Are you referring to actual figure development slots, or potential SKU slots? The reason I ask is because if there were, perhaps, 2 SKUs for next year (a standard single figure SKU and a two-pack SKU) with alternating months (say January is a single figure, followed by an appropriately paired 2-pack in February, followed by another single figure in March, and continue the pattern), with 12 slots you could increase the impact of next year on completing the vintage MOTU and core POP, NA & FILMation. I know talks are probably just beginning, and all suggestions are being taken into consideration, but wanted to toss this into the mix.

Thanks for another great year!

Total number of skus. Based on the very low sub sell in for 2013 (just above the bare min vs double the bare min in previous years) management will decide how many figures we can do in total.

Toy Guru you first said all vintage and a list of pop and NA. Now you say maybe all vintage. When will we know what's going on with 2014. I don't really want a shortened 2014

Catra's Wrath: Toy Guru aims to get to most of the vintage MOTU characters, plus the core POP and NA characters by the end of 2014. There's no word yet on how many SKU slots will be in 2014, TG commented it could be anywhere between 6-12 monthly figures, but if things go well over the next year and the demand is there, and people want more figures, then who knows. There's nothing that can be said about it at this time because 2014 planning is so far off!

To add:

We will make sure all slots in 2014 are vintage figs (MOTU, POP and NA) and major Filmation characters. We won't do concept characters or that type. But we don't know how many slots we will have in 2014 at this point. Based on the huge drop in sales for 2013 I am guessing it will be less then 2011 and 2012. We won't get to every fig but we will do our best to maximize the slots with all vintage and major Filmation characters that the majority of fans want.

It doesn't mean concept figs and variants are gone forever, but for 2014 our focus will be on vintage figs and main Filmation figs (assuming 2014 happens, management has not signed off yet).

Is there still a chance to get the major NA and POP figures in 2013 or 2014?

Maybe in a special sub line?

That is our goal but we don't know at this point how many slots we will have for 2014. But we can say we will do all we can to maximize all the slots!

Hi TG!

It's VERY exciting to see Illumina was only 27 votes away from winning the Fan Vote (and I'm happy for all the fans who wanted Geldor)!

It's no surprise or secret, that there were many people who did not vote for Illumina only because she was described as getting a repainted Teela tunic instead of getting a new, two-piece outfit, and utilizing the Female Buck 2.0 (Bubble Power She-Ra body).

I think it would be pretty awesome if Illumina and Sleetah (her cat) were produced as a two-pack and I have an idea on how Mattel could produce it cheaper.

When Mattel makes a Shokoti action figure, make sure her skin tone is the same colour as Keldor and make TWICE the amount of blue, female torsos (so you have enough for Illumina). Then, when you get around to the Illumina & Sleetah set, you can cast all of their body parts in white, which is much cheaper. Sleetah is a complete repaint of Panthor, with a new tiara and saddle. The saddle, tiara and weapon can be produced when you have something that will use gray plastic.

Illumina only requires a new head, top, skirt and sword staff thing. Both her and her cat are VERY low on tooling, and making all the parts together in a batch of white should greatly reduce costs.

Another cool thing would be if the packaging background was done with the night sky, with moon and stars, like the comic cover she was a part of (and the figures posed like on the cover). It would kind of look like the 3D plastic posters of classic movies McFarlane used to do (like Jaws, Nightmare on Elm Street, etc.). If that's too expensive, the existing background could be used, just re-coloured to mimic the comic cover. It would be super cool! Note: pic of the Jaws cover as example at the end of post.

I know it's a suggestion and not really a question, but I'm really excited about the possibility of getting her and her cat in MOTUC and I know you guys work a year in advance. Big Grin Please make Illumina and Sleetah happen in MOTUC!

A very cool suggestion but as you likely guess, we don't have any plans to announce for her right now.

Here's a few suggestions for the other folks! (so they can be passed along to the correct teams, etc.)
All females: NO Battleground Teela thighs. they Limit articulation,

Illumina: NO Teela Dress... Shield Bearer Sherri-Lyn's (Female FFM) top is closer To Illumina's and has a plug-hole where the lower part of Illumina's top could be plugged (and glued to a BGT torso painted white could help create her look while reusing some parts.

Trap Jaw: Can we say Traveling Exclusive?

Masks of Power Demon: He screams 2014 or 2015 Comic Con Exclusive 2 pack with his red buddy... Hopefully with de-powered versions of them.

Songster: Bow's hands kinda look like he's playing a guitar...

Kamo Khan: another decent Traveling Con exclusive.

C&D Evil Lyn: Perfect for a variant slot!

Marlena: Eh, She could also work as a Traveling Con exclusive...

If Spector's whip and a new alternate unmasked head are tossed in to one of these, I'm so buying the one who carries the spector stuff!

TG: "Alas, a vehicle takes way more work and with WR sales being so low we just can't get the resources to do another, even as a presale."

Wait... so basically "even if we had enough money to do it... we wouldn't have the resources to do it"? Resources cost money... so enough guaranteed sales from preorders would be enough guaranteed resources. No?

I'm kinda on the slow-side... could you clarify this a bit?

A presale for the Battleram seems like a no-brainer to me, even if you have to set the price high. Either there are enough sales to make it happen... or there aren't. Where's the harm in giving the fans a chance?

Yes, on paper a pre sale seems like a good idea but it still takes a ton of resoruces to do and with sub numbers so low for 2013 and WR sales so low it is jut not a resource we can get right now.

What about doing a pre order for 12 or the same amount of figures 2013 has for 2014

Start the pre orders in Jan 2013. So between pre orders and the sub sale at comic con you should have plenty of subs to produce more of the same amount of figures as 2013. Since more figures will be revealed by then, more people might be convinced to sub after seeing a 2013 that you say is the strongest year yet. A lot of people were on the fence about this year for many different reasons don't let 2014 suffer because of this.

MOTUC should be advertised more. There is never anything on Newsarama, or comicbookresources. Even ads places in comic books could bring new people to Matty. I want to see this line increase in 2014, not dwindle down to 6-12 figures. There are too many characters.

If we had the budget we would love to. You have to remember how small this line is. Even at 2012 and 2011 numbers MOTUC is likely the single smallest line Mattel does.

I used to buy 2 MOTUC SUBS in the past years, but for 2013 I've got 4 just to support the line.

I bought them in two separate orders, 2 subs in one order, other 2 in the other order. BUT I REALLY WANT TO RECEIVE THEM IN TWO DIFERRENT SHIPMENTS/PACKAGES, SINCE THEY ARE TWO SEPARATE ORDERS. I know the current system will send them all together to me...

Is there any way I can split my two subs pairs in two separate packages? Or will I have to wait for "My Subscription" page to get that? BTW, will "My Subscription" allow me to do that?

As long as you ordered them with the same shipping method they will ship together. You will also be able to change shipping on the my sub page that will launch before 2013.

Scott, you mentioned recently that you have "big plans" to announce in Feb (was it for NYCC or Toy Fair, can't recall which), but does this in turn mean that we'll have to wait that long before we get any new reveals?

Typically PowerCon sees a few new items and I'm curious if you still plan to reveal anything at that show. With the great news yesterday that 2013 is a go and the further announcement of great new things coming down the pipe for MOTU in that year, I'm curious if Feb is how long we'll have to wait for... say the rumored Snake Face reveal? Personally, I think the fans deserve another taste based on the fact that we quite LITERALLY pulled 2013 out of thin air! What say you sir?
At Power Con we will show whatever is available and has been completed since SDCC.

"Alas, a vehicle takes way more work and with WR sales being so low we just can't get the resources to do another, even as a presale."

I understand that you'd want to show the vehicles before a presale but:

1- Battle Ram is already sculpted, so this one is a no-brainer. If minimum pre-sales are reached great, if not, no harm done
2- For other vehicles/playsets I'm sure most people wouldn't mind preordering based on a few sketches only.

Please don't disregard these ideas, people have already proved their commitment to this line

We are not disguarding these ideas, but right now based on the number of subscribers we have for 2013 and the sales of the WR the numbers are just not there.

for me the best part of MOTUC is that we get characters like Gygor, demo-man, Fang-man, He-Ro and YES the Fighting Foe Men! sprinkling in some of the never before made characters is to me the best part, I know that the majority want to finish off the main A listers from MOTU, POP and NA but please don't give up on characters like Batros, Goat-man, Lord Masque, Evil seed etc.

I love those characters too! But now that we only hit the bare min for 2013, we are going to concentrate on the vintage toy characters first for 2014 (and main Filmation characters) swinging back to these type of characters in time.

I wanted to know what will happen with Kamo Khan, now that he hasnt win the poll.
Is he out of the question, or there is a possibility too.
Also, what will happen with all the variants and figures that were planned til 2016, and now the idea is to go out on 2014 with a bang?
Cause I really enjoy the line, and I dont want it to end.
It just means he isn't coming in Fall 2013. It doesn't mean he is off the table forever (just like all the other candidates).

First off I'd like to thank all the fans for keeping the line going! YAY! I love this line and so excited to keep adding to my collection.

My question is this: You said 2014 would be smaller, 6-12 figures. But, if we start getting the "A" list figures from ALL the lines and see a huge spike in interest again and the 2014 subs (which go on sale in 2013)get a huge bump, is it possible to keep the current sub structure? (12 monthly figs plus 4 quarterly and some out of sub items)

Thank you for your time and long live Classics!!

I hope so! At this point we don't know how big or small the 2014 line will be, but based on 2013 sales it will be hard to "grow" since although we hit the bare min, we were still over 50% lower then we were in 2012 overall. Now that we are at the bare min that will note the resources we get from management for 2014.

BUT if we do have a 2014 we will do our best to chock it full of only vintage figs and main Filmation characters to maximize every slot.

It looks like you've announced the winner but I still have the pdf of the vote information and double checked... According to it, people have until 11:59 tonight to vote.

Is there some reason the poll was closed early?

Congratulations! You purchased a Club Eterniaฎ subscription and now you get one vote for our 2013 Fan’s Choice figure! Here's how it works:
Click the link below to access the voting page.
Enter the Club Eternia Voting Code in the Order Information section of your confirmation email to begin.
Read each figure’s description and campaign slogan to find out more about them.
Vote for the figure you think we should make.Poll opens 7/13 at 1 p.m. PT and closes 8/8 at 11:59 p.m. PT (don’t wait to vote because once the poll closes, there won’t be another chance).
Check back to find out which one will be released as a monthly subscription figure in fall 2013!
Click here to cast your vote.

Well done Scott - I think you have worked very hard in the last week to get this to go - I hope it will be a little while before you start getting earache again for not including this or that.

But please don't forget your pledge to the fans - the rest of the major characters by the end of 2014... I think that pledge made many a sale, and it does look like the time has come to get everything in order before the line does come to it's right and natural end.

Well done Scott - I hope you have some R&R time coming up!

We won't be able to get to every figure by 2014, but we will ensure all figs we can do are vintage toys or main Filmation characters. While we did hit 130% or so of e BARE MIN that is still extra ely low so it is doubtful we will get enough skus in 2014 to completely finsih the vintage line. But it will be our focus.

Dear Toy Guru, I have been trying to order subs for the motuc line for the last 48 hours (before it closed) but kept getting this error code when trying to add to cart . Error 2151021077 is an invalid value for m. I am based in the UK but I doubt this should make a difference. I have contacted customer service but with no reply. Please can you help as I like many others am committed to keeping this great line going.

With fewer figures means less likely we get a complete collection this is not nogotiable just can you please just do 12 figures i want a complete... What if the subs the year after trump 2013 i mean would you consider pushing up the skus i just want to request im sure this is what the fans want... And the battle ram was already sculpted we saw the ram
At the sdcc 2010 convention i mean i would buy the vehicle. Thank you fans for your support this year

Our aim is to do a line that appeals to the most amount of fans. We can't custom make the line around your particular needs

Please make at least 12 figures in 2014! With what happened this year, I am 100% confident we can rally everyone in an organized manner by the time SDCC hits. Vintage heavy sells better anyway, so I have no doubt fans and resellers will buy 2014! 12 or more in 2014! We have the power!

That will be up to management. I don't know at this point how many slots we will have for 2014.

I have seen a lot of Q&A:s about Pre Sale, but am curious about the restrictions, and why a more Kickstarter-like approach is off the table (if it is).

For exampel a regular Pre Sale means the customer buys the actual product, but with more of a Kickstarter-approach I would also be able to give more money to make the product and instead perhaps get an exclusive poster, or my name on a list accompanying the vehicle/playset (fairly small production cost, but still valuable).

Also, transparency regarding how much the vehicle/playset would cost (like in Kickstarter) could improve sales. At least I felt that this mentality was one of the factors behind the rush in sales of the 2013 sub.

Anyhow, I'm sure this idea has passed your minds, I'm just curious to why this is not an option.

A kickstarted program still requires. Ton of work including sculpting. It isn't off the table but not exactly our first choice to keep the line going

i would love to make a MOTUC commercial with the original soundtrack from original commercial. It will be funny version of the 80s one with adults in it. can i make it? or will i get post from the lawyer?

Thank you for all of your hardwork on the line first and foremost! I cannot wait to see what 2013 has in store.

I know you've stated future vehicle status are up in the air based on lower sub sales/WR sales etc but please give Pre-sales a shot.

It seems to be working with Young Justice. Obviously it's yet another tool in your toolbelt to get us more great MOTUC product. If it doesn't reach the minimum the conversation on that particular vehicle goes no further.

Please don't disregard this as a viable option - Give MOTUC fans the opportunity to meet another goal!

Alas, a vehicle takes way more work and with WR sales being so low we just can't get the resources to do another, even as a presale.

sorry, i was asking if this Weapons pak is a hit and sells out with it's new tooling, then would you consider doing Netossa's mask in a Weapons pak next year, then the "fin's" on the side of her head would look like they are coming out of the mask and not just stupidly floating in mid air by her head, and Strobo needs his gun
all cool ideas,but nothing to announce now.

Such absolutely overjoyous news that 2013 is a go! Many, many fans stepped up and I couldn't be happier that things are moving forward. Now, I realize you've said that Wind Raider not selling as well as hoped has impacted future vehicles, but (as others have suggested) would it be possible to do, for instance, BATTLE RAM as a pre-sale, similar to how you're handling the Young Justice two-pack? Let the market determine the need ahead of time rather than increase risks by producing in anticipation of demand. I'm just saying, this could be the way to go for vehicles moving forward. What do you think?
Doing a pre sale still takes a ton of design work (beyond sculpting) and with sales of the WR being so low, there is just no way we can get those resources. The Wr was the opportunity for fans to vote for more vehicles by buying a WR and it didn't happen.

You have mentioned that 2014 will be smaller, and with lower than normal sales numbers, that is to be expected. But will we still have at least the 12 monthly figures? Cutting back quarterly extras is all well and good, but most of us have to have a monthly dose of our MOTUC drug to survive.

Whether we can do 12 figures or just 6 remains to be seen. 2013 sold in higher then the bare min, but it was still dramatically lower then any other year which means 2014 will be much smaller.

Now that 2013 will be a reality and you are at this moment planing 2014 with the 4 horseman and the design team please make sure ALL the vintage figures, all the most requested filmation figures, ALL the most requested POP and NA will be done until the end of 2014 like you promissed ok?

Rokkon, Stonedar, Extendar, Dragstor, Thung lashor, Laser Power He-man, Flying fists He-man, Laser light skeletor, Terror claws skeletor, guildor, saurod, you name it!!... (theres no MOTU character from the vintage line that's not an A lister for me and most of fans here so please make them a reallity!!)

NA Adam, NA He-man, NA skeletor, etc... (not a fan of NA but there are many people that are...)

How you'll be able to do so much stuff in 2 years??? Well... I don't care but I trust on you with that! You are Toyguru not me so figure it out!!

After that you will still owe me a lot of characters like snake mekanek, snake armor he-man, ice armor he-man (really must have this one), snake teela, queen veena (common... you did king grayskull she is a must have), etc

After all that we will still need all the other remaining figures, vehicles, playsets and dioramas...

A friend of mine has for more than an year now this sentence on his msn profile... "Eternia will be mine..."Well we all want one complete eternia and etheria for ourselves dont we? Make us dream!! You did it once you'll do it again!!

There seems to be a feeling that the line is ending and that 2014 will a "wrap-up" year. I believe that the line can last a few more years with the following changes:

Streamline the sub, with an emphasis on action figures with less or fewer beasts and multipacks. If beasts are in the sub, let them be the only item released in those months without all the expensive pile-ups. Avoid expensive three packs of obscure characters. I think if this had been the case for 2013, you would have had significantly higher subscriptions, even with the price increase.

I can confirm that the FFM is and actually always was (even on the 2016 road map) the last 3 pack. It is just coincidence that we had a 3 pack in both 2012 and 2013.

I am overjoyed to hear that 2013 will go forward and hope for many years to come. I tried to remain fairly positive; however in the last three weeks all I read was that the dub may fail. Not how I wanted to see MOTU's 30th aniversary and still it seems tainted with despair. I for one hoped to see such things as a slime covered He-Man as seen in the mini comics, a Horde trooper Hordak with baby Adora, and my own guilty pleasure of a cub Panthor, much like we saw with Cringer and would be a great pack in for Illumina if you ever got there, not to mention my Keldor needs the cub he rescued to feel complete. (You have to admit, its a good idea.

Anyways, seeing as how we know roughly that 2014 will try to round out the line with the major A listers and that Scorpia will be included in 2014, isn't there enough there, legally, to open up a 2014 sub earlier than SDCC '13 and still keep it open through SDCC for the reveals?

2014 will definately be smaller then 2013 and 2012 since we only sold a little over the extreme bare min to do 2013.

Also, we have not confirmed Scorpia for any year, just noted that we consider her a "must get to".

Just to follow-up, so there's still a chance to get more vehicles in MOTUC? Depending on when the Windraider sells out?

My pleasure helping promote MOTUC and DCIE. Thanks for all that you do and here's to a great 2013!

We would love to do another full vehicle but with 2013 sales just a smidge over the BARE MINIMUM and the Windraider sales where they are, it makes it a lot harder to go to management and ask for these type of resoruces.

We really needed the WR to perform better to justify more vehicles. We can only make toys if their is an audience to buy them.

Given the interest in Ram Man, and the extra tooling costs involved, will production numbers on him be significantly higher than usual? Will he follow the one off production model, or would he be a suitable eventual addition to the esssentials line? has he a unique or could I put a standard head on the body, like I can with Orko.

And is Dree-Elle a possibility, or too much of a small fry?

We will produce slighty more of him vs other 2013 figures due to the popularity but he will not be part of the evergreen items. Once he is gone that is it. No second runs on any 2012 or 2013 items. (we will sell off any remaining customer service stock, but no actual second production)

Scott, in the video you uploaded earlier today, you mentioned that there are some new programs for 2013. Is POP part of these too, or will it be just MOTU again?

I think POP fans deserve at least a toy line variant subscription line (similar to the 30th anniversary sub line), since Classics was originally advertised with the goal of celebrating the toy versions. We also never got the toy versions of The Star Sisters.

With the large increase of subs,could there be room for a few concept characters?

I and many other fans love them,and I can't wait to have my wind raider pilot.

While we sold above the bare min to keep 2013 alive, the 135% of the bare min is still WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY smnaller then we had for 2012 or any other year.

So knowing this, and knowing 2014 will be a smaller year (as far as number of skus) we will definately concentrate on just the vintage figs going forward to try and finish the line. It doesn't mean concept figs are off the table, but they will not take priority now that the line has peak out. Still going well, but we definately peaked in 2012.

Now that the 2013 sub is going through, in the coming weeks/months when you lock down 2014, can you give us (in general terms) an idea of what it will look like (vintage only/vintage mainly/going back to original release plan/etc).

thanks for all the work to get the 2013 line going.

2014 will definately be smaller then 2013 (since even at 135% of the bare min quota we were still WAYYYYYYYY lower then 2012 or 2011). We had enough to save 2013, but not enough to keep expanding or even match 2014 to 2013 size. 2014 will be smaller then 2013 or 2012 but not gone.

well..the title sez it all :-)
We're always looking for ways of getting to her. Just because she didn't win the poll doesn't mean Illumina or any of the other candidates can't make it into the line one day. But Geldor did win when we cut off voting and sales at the same time we can streamline the announcements.

Since most fans seem to be satisfied with Battleground Evil-Lyn, how about considering making Cloak and Dagger Evil-Lyn a traveling exclusive sometime after Geldor comes out? That way, the fans who don't want "another Evil-Lyn" don't have to get her automatically as a subscription figure. The fans who want to make the ultimate 200X Evil-Lyn can go to conventions (or wait until the leftovers go up on Matty) to get her.

Huge thanks to Scott for his sincere efforts as brand manager for helping in a big way to keep us informed and support the best toy line ever.
135% is huge!!!

Moving forward, can you now give us some clarification about how many figures we can expect to see in 2014? You mentioned in an earlier video that Mattel would be scaling down and producing less figures. Could we now see as many figures as in previous years?

Very excited for your decision to scrap the 2016 roadmap and packing in as many vintage figures as possible and making that the line's focus here on out, which is exactly what fans want!

We don't know at this point. It will likely be fewer then 2013 but not none at all.

I'm an international fan, and I'd like to know if there is a way for me to pay the whole sub year upfront.
This will be better for me, becasue of future regulations in my country and possible limits in my credit card.

So when they say vintage only in 2014 does that mean no Filmation or POP? Maybe Filmation/POP will get it's own sub, since POP figures are going with the Filmation style anyway?

They mean the characters who had 80's figures. The remaining 80's MOTU characters. The major POP and NA characters. I would think that Octavia and Scorpia are probably in that bunch somewhere between 2013 and 2014 since TG lumps POP Horde villainesses in POP.

Hopefully they don't reduce 2014 TOO much. I still want at least one figure a month (12 figures for the year), the sub exclusive and some 2-packs.

Agreed. Figures are the priority now. Other ancillary items like vehicles, beasts, giants, weapons packs, figure stands, etc, are not of importance in my opinion. I would definitely support replacing "extra" slots in the subscription to two/multi packs that help finish the line.

2014 looking to be quite small according to Toyguru's posts...

Got these posts from TG in my email this morning...

"We won't be able to get to every figure by 2014, but we will ensure all figs we can do are vintage toys or main Filmation characters. While we did hit 130% or so of e BARE MIN that is still extra ely low so it is doubtful we will get enough skus in 2014 to completely finsih the vintage line. But it will be our focus."

When asked about 12 or more for 2014:

"That will be up to management. I don't know at this point how many slots we will have for 2014."

"Whether we can do 12 figures or just 6 remains to be seen."

"2014 will definately be smaller then 2013 and 2012 since
we only sold a little over the extreme bare min to do 2013. "

"While we sold above the bare min to keep 2013 alive, the 135% of the bare min is still WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY smnaller then we had for 2012 or any other year.

So knowing this, and knowing 2014 will be a smaller year (as far as number of skus) we will definately concentrate on just the vintage figs going forward to try and finish the line. "

"2014 will definately be smaller then 2013 (since even at 135% of the bare min quota we were still WAYYYYYYYY lower then 2012 or 2011). We had enough to save 2013, but not enough to keep expanding or even match 2014 to 2013 size. 2014 will be smaller then 2013 or 2012 but not gone."

When asked how many figs in 2014:

"We don't know at this point. It will likely be fewer then 2013 but not none at all."

I was surprised by these posts as well...I thought 2014 would have at least 1 figure per month, which would have been fine with me...but less than that? I kinda thought the whole point of making sure 2013 went through was so that we could have 2 more full years of MOTUC.

If they take the quarterly slots out, they will automatically be reducing the price of the sub by $180. That's pretty significant and coupled with a strong lineup, I would think they would be able to get the minimum number of subscribers for a 12 figure sub in 2014.

If they take the quarterly slots out, they will automatically be reducing the price of the sub by $180. That's pretty significant and coupled with a strong lineup, I would think they would be able to get the minimum number of subscribers for a 12 figure sub in 2014.

I agree. It should not be difficult to do 13 figures, 12 monthly plus one sub exclusive. The total before shipping would only be $325, which is better for a lot of fans. Plus, there are a lot of remaining figures that are not going to need extensive new tooling even if they need some new parts made.

"Mattel's policy of things being seen as a failure if they don't sell out in minutes still annoys the hell out of me."  .org Member paulioscorchio

Enjoy my articles on action figures, Christianity, and much more on Infobarrel.

i think TG is just simply being sensible about what he is saying - after all the drama leading up to yesterday, we didn't know if there was going to be a line or not ...

i think a further scale-back in 2014 is inevitable, given what's happened with 2013 - yes, we got enough subscriptions to continue the line - but as time goes on, the line will get smaller which = less interest in it ... sorry if that sounds bleak, but it's the reality ...

''He-Man lives and possesses that key, I must possess all or I possess nothing!'' (Skeletor, 1987)

Wasn't there basically a promise if we MET 100% we would see most if not all vintage heavy hitters finished in 2014? I'm sorry, but this sounds like a back pedal to me

This more than sounds like back-pedaling. It IS back-pedaling. Scott PROMISED that if we got 2013 secured, he would re-toll 2014 to get all remaining heavy-hitter characters. I'm telling you, the longer I collect this line, the more I hate Toy Guru and Mattel in general. It's nothing but doom and gloom over and over with constant threats. We got 135% of minimum, and now all of a sudden Scott takes on an attitude of "Well, it's good that we got 2013, but you guys didn't do enough so now I'm going to threaten you with a small 2014 line up." And this comes after he PROMISED us a FANTASTIC 2014 line up!

Seriously, I'm so glad I didn't let him sucker me into more than one sub. If I was one of the people who bought multiples and I read all his comments, I would be IRATE.

Wasn't there basically a promise if we MET 100% for the 2013 sub, we would see most if not all vintage heavy hitters finished in 2014? I'm sorry, but this sounds like a back pedal to me

2014 will be without doubtprimarily vintage, as TG has said in one of the above quotes ... but how many we have left by then remains to be seen ... and he probably doesn't want to make any bold statements right now until they plan it out fully ...

''He-Man lives and possesses that key, I must possess all or I possess nothing!'' (Skeletor, 1987)

Wasn't there basically a promise if we MET 100% for the 2013 sub, we would see most if not all vintage heavy hitters finished in 2014? I'm sorry, but this sounds like a back pedal to me

I totally agree. There is a major change in the attitude/tone of his comments when you compare pre sub closure and post sub closure. When he was promoting the sub it was all about how the roadmap was changed so that 2014 will "complete" the vintage figures, which was a stretch to begin with, then after the sub closed he is all about how we "barely" got by the bare minimum. This is total BS back pedalling in my opinion. I am really taken back by his comments now. How is 135% barely getting by? In what freaking world does a 35% overage count has barely going over? I guess it is too soon to care, 2013 is a lock and I will just enjoy it for everything it brings to my collection and I will worry about 2014 next year.

Hmm, it doesn't look very good for 2014 being a full 12 figs, but this actually might work to the line's advantage. I mean if we're getting only the most recognizeable vintage stuff in a smaller concentrated amounts, it might just spark enough to expand into 2015 with Filmation, NA and POP stuff.

From the sounds of it, the heretics in management that have no faith in the line may not be willing to amp things back up again now that they smelled weakness anyway. At least there's hope until then.

TG should go back to basics and try to get 12 figs out for 2014. Like Zodach said, take the quarterly slots out and BAM there we go! We will have a more affordable "heavy hitter" subscription model that will sell BIG TIME.